Joint Industry Initiative. Danish Aviation to Be CO2 Neutral by 2050
The Danish aviation industry has banded together and come up with a climate initiative aimed at reducing CO2 emissions caused by air traffic.
In a new, joint initiative, Dansk Luftfart (the trade association of the Danish aviation sector) is taking a giant, and very ambitious step towards greener aviation. In specific terms, the trade association’s climate proposal comprises a number of new, targeted initiatives to ensure that the Danish aviation industry will be CO2 neutral by 2050:
- Danish airports will be CO2 neutral from 2020. In addition, from 2020, Danish domestic air traffic will be 100% CO2 compensated.
- By 2030, the fossil footprint of Danish aviation will be reduced by 30% compared with 2017.
- Copenhagen Airport will make an active contribution to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement. According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this means that aviation must be CO2 neutral by 2050.
- Copenhagen Airport will support the demand for sustainable fuel and other long-term technological solutions that reduce fossil emission.
This is the very first time that the aviation industry has banded together to come up with a joint climate initiative. These new measures will serve to intensify the journey towards a greener climate, which Copenhagen Airport has been on for quite some years now.
“As an airport, we naturally bear a responsibility for the society we are a part of. That is why, for a number of years now, we have been implementing numerous initiatives that will improve our climate: for example, cooling our terminals with groundwater, replacing lights, installing solar cells and much more. But we as an airport cannot tackle climate challenges alone. That’s why we are delighted that Copenhagen Airport is part of an ambitious, joint industry initiative targeting climate issues,” says Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Copenhagen Airport.
In addition to the four specific initiatives, Dansk Luftfart also proposes the establishment of an Aviation Climate Partnership. This partnership should consist of representatives from the aviation industry, policy makers, think tanks and researchers. The aim is for the climate partnership, within a foreseeable time frame, to come up with recommendations for a climate policy strategy for Danish aviation.